Have you used a metronome before?

Ask yourself that simple question and if you your answer is no, then stop whatever you’re doing and read this post. Seriously.

What’s the big deal?

Using a metronome to help develop your guitar skills will have a major impact on your progress. One of the main factors that separate a poor guitarist from a great one is the player’s sense of timing and rhythm. A metronome can help you develop your sense of timing and force you to improve your rhythm skills. It’s such a simple tool to use and the results are often amazing. Think of it a different way: if you don’t use a metronome to practice and hone your sense of rhythm, you may develop poor habits and continue to play with bad timing and not even realize it!

Do I need to buy a metronome?

The great thing is you don’t need to have a physical metronome to get started. Although it’s not a bad idea to have one handy, there are alternatives. You can download apps to your phone that will do the job or to your PC/Mac. We even have a section on this site under the Backing Tracks Section that simulates a metronome at various tempos.

What’s the next step?

After you work through the lessons on this site, you will have a basic understanding of the metronome and how to use it. From here you can continue to use it to help you improve your abilities with techniques such as tapping, sweep-picking, alternate-picking etc. For now, just start with the basics and your abilities will definitely improve straight away.